Empty
by DreamingIce
Summary: Intertrilogy. Mirax Terrik vignette. Mirax's first time flying the Skate as her own ship.


**Title**: Empty  
**Genre**: General/slight angst  
**Era**: Inter-trilogy  
**Characters**: Mirax Terrik; Liat Tsayv  
**Ships**: none  
**Keywords**: Mirax, Pulsar Skate  
**Summary**: Just after Booster is sent to Kessel, Mirax makes her first 'business trip' with the _Pulsar Skate  
_**Notes**: A response to the First Newbie Challenge on the Fanfic orientation thread. The challenge had to include a character, OC or Canon and something they were doing for the first time.

The sound of lone footsteps on the cargo hold of the _Baudo_-class yacht echoed around the fifteen-year-old.

It sounded cold, empty, lifeless. The booming voice that had always seemed to keep a sense of life on board the ship had vanished.

Mirax squeezed her brown eyes shut. _Arrested_, she corrected herself acidly before a couple of tears leaked through her sealed eyelids. She missed her father so much, and knowing that she wouldn't see him again for another five years, or maybe ever, was cutting into her like a vibroblade.

Booster had long prided himself on avoiding CorSec to the point where it was known that he had driven one of the officers trying to track him crazy with frustration. But three weeks ago, his taunting of that agent had caught up with him.

He'd been on Nar Shadda to negotiate a deal with someone. CorSec had then swoop, with Hal Horn in the lead. Polipe had had to blast off without him.

Mirax drew a ragged breath as she remembered her reaction when Polipe had come back. She screamed, she'd thrown things at him. Nothing, _nothing_, could match her sense of betrayal that her father's first mate had stirred within her. She told him to get out, or else she'd shoot him. And she had been deadly serious with that threat. Thankfully, Polipe has known she was serious with the threat too, and had high-tailed it out of there.

So she was having to start her life from scratch. So many things had changed. Her 'family' had all but gone. Her mother had died when she was no more than three, dad was now in the mines on Kessel. Even her 'adopted family' was scattered. Zena and Jagged Antilles had been killed nearly a year ago. And the closest thing she had to a brother, Wedge had joined up with the Rebellion, unreachable, and with an Imperial bounty on his head. The _Pulsar Skate_ was now pretty much the only remaining constant in her life.

A chittering from behind her made Mirax spin around. She was faced with the mouse-eared Sullustan, Liat Tsayv, who she had just hired as her co-pilot. He cocked his head and cheebled another question.

"Yes, of course I all right," Mirax told him irritably, sweeping her arm across her eyes abruptly. He squawked yet another query at her.

"Yeah, I'm on my way," Mirax told him somewhat absently. Liat patted her arm before he turned around and returned to the cockpit.

Mirax looked around her. This was it, her first time being in charge of the _Skate._ Her father had often taught her about various aspects of his beloved ship, as well as teaching her about running a business.

Taking a deep breath, the dark-haired teenager left the hold and headed towards the cockpit.

Sitting in the cockpit during flight was nothing new for Mirax, but actually sitting in the pilot's seat was another matter. This was her first business venture, and not have her father beside her to help her was like a stinging bite that just wouldn't go away. After spending some needed downtime to in part recover from the shock of her father's imprisonment, she now had to establish business connections again.

Finding Liat to act as her co-pilot had been a stroke of luck in Mirax's favour. He was smart, efficient, and he respected Mirax. He also didn't pry into areas Mirax kept closed, which presently was greatly appreciated.

Mirax was jolted out of her thoughts again, but his time by the realspace reversion counter warning that reversion would be in five minutes. _Enough moping,_ Mirax berated herself silently. _No-one will take you seriously in business if you keep drifting off into your own little world of grief._

Mirax straightened herself in the pilots seat and prepared to take the ship down into the spaceport.

Hours later, a satisfied teenager sauntered her way back to the ship that her father had commanded for so long that now belonged to her. Her clients had been impressed with her negotiation skills, and she had also been able to usetheir condolences at Booster's capture to her advantage. They wanted to buy a particularly rare vintage of a type of exotic liquor, one that was banned in many systems. One that she knew where to find.

Mirax slowly smiled. While her father had always warned her of getting ahead of herself, or counting the vweliu nuts in the ryshcate you haven't cooked, Mirax felt she could safely say that her first business venture had turned out well.

It had just opened the door to a new world for Mirax. And she was determined to make the best of it, even if her father couldn't be there with her.

**Fin. **

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